


Sherlock's "Friend"

by LillithFox14



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Secret Johnlock, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:33:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26621449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LillithFox14/pseuds/LillithFox14
Summary: Sherlock has been acting strange and Lestrade tries to figure out why.
Relationships: Philip Anderson/Sally Donovan, Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Comments: 5
Kudos: 130





	1. Chapter 1

Lestrade noticed the dramatic change in Sherlock’s mood lately. He had been nothing but pleasant on every case for the past week. No running off with evidence, no going around calling people idiots for missing something “obvious.”

He didn’t even pick fights with Anderson or Donavan recently. Lestrade didn't know what was the cause of the detective's good mood, but he refused to ask him in fear that it would somehow ruin it.

It seemed that the rest of Scotland Yard agreed with him since no one else has bothered Sherlock about it. But the peace could only last so long, curiosity was eating away at all of them, so it wasn't surprising that Donavan could only last two weeks before she broke.

"What is going on with you?" She asked him, while he was kneeling next to the body. _Really, Now_. Yes, they were all dying to know what was going on, but she could have at least waited until after they caught the murderer.

“I don’t know what you mean.” He said while still focusing on the body. “You’ve been acting...nice, so very unlike yourself. Almost makes me think you're human after all.” Lestrade almost yelled at her about being unprofessional, once again, but he wanted to hear Sherlock’s answer first.

“A friend of mine is in town.” What?! To say that they were surprised would have been an understatement. “Friend? You don’t have those.” This time, Lestrade did yell. “Donavan!” “She’s not wrong,” Anderson said in her defense.

Sherlock didn’t say anything, he just kept looking at the body. If Lestrade didn’t know better, he would have guessed that he had blocked them out in order to concentrate on the cases.

It wouldn't have been the first time. He has known Sherlock long enough to know that wasn't it. He was upset. Before Lestrade could say anything, Sherlock got up and walked away.

He was too surprised to stop him as he watched him get inside a cab. He thought about going after him, they had a case to solve, then he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

'Arrest the uncle. - SH' Now he knew something was wrong. While leaving abruptly was very much like Sherlock, he only did it after showing off. He made a mental note to come by his flat later, after finding the victim's uncle.

_*Four days later his good mood had worn off and we went back to his grumpy and aggravating self.*_


	2. Chapter 2

_ *Six months later* _

Sherlock has been unavailable every Thursday night for the last couple of months. He refused to answer his phone or even speak to him about a case when he would come to his flat. 

He didn't even tell him why, expertly avoiding questions by solely focusing on work. Lestrade didn't mind that the detective would take a day, God knows he needs a break every once in a while, but he was tired of him disappearing in the middle of a case. 

"What could be so important that you have to leave right now?" He was in the middle of a triple homicide, Sherlock's favorite, and he was suddenly trying to ditch him. "I'm expecting an important phone call! I'll be back tomorrow!" 

Then he got inside a cab and left. At least this time he got an explanation, even though it was pretty vague. Now the only question was who on earth was calling Sherlock Holmes? "Maybe it's his brother." 

A girl from forensics told him. He must have been saying his thoughts out loud, that or she just guessed what he was thinking. But her theory didn't hold up from what he knew about Sherlock and Mycroft's relationship.

He had told Lestrade that the phone call had been important and the person was obviously someone very special to him, he wouldn't stop in the middle of a case for just anyone. "I bet it's his dealer," Donavan added. 

As much as he wanted to yell at her and then drag her to his office to tell her off for being so unprofessional, yet again, during an active crime scene, he couldn't. Sherlock has been clean for over four years now and it would break his heart if he found out that he was using, but he couldn't deny the possibility. 

Especially with how weird he has been lately. It had been so long since he had even done a real drugs bust, he only did it to search for the evidence that Sherlock stole. Drugs would explain why he would disappear every Thursday night and wouldn't return the next day, time to take and hide the evidence.

"What about that friend he mentioned a couple of months ago?" the girl from forensics asked. Lestrade had completely forgotten about the incident. Sherlock had refused to talk about it after the comments Anderson and Donavan made, which only convinced them that he really had been making it up. 

He didn't know what to believe about the mystery friend, but now he hoped that the person was real more than ever. Plus, he was probably just being paranoid. Sherlock hasn't given him any solid reason to think that he was back on drugs and his brother would have informed him if he had been. 

All Donavan was doing was running her mouth to anyone who would listen. They would always bad mouth Sherlock, even though he constantly helped them on cases and basically did their jobs for them. 

Their pride refused to let them warm up to Sherlock as he has. He was going to start watching him more closely, just to be safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will update as soon as possible : )


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating for so long. Been super busy with school and such. I will try to be more frequent.

Lestrade was starting to regret his decision. Sherlock never came back after he left for his “important” phone call. He still wasn’t sure who it was from. The detective didn’t answer his calls or texts and Ms.Hudson refused to let anyone up to see him.

He was close to doing a drugs bust just to make sure that he was okay at this point. But before he gathered a team, Sherlock finally answered the phone. “What do you want?” He sounded angry. 

Lestrade wanted to yell at him and demand an explanation for where he had been, but the case he needed him for was more important. For now. “I need you for a case. I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for the past week.” 

“Text me the address, I’ll be there in an hour.” He hung up. It was a relief when he saw Sherlock step out of a cab. Well, until he got a closer look at him. If he hadn’t been paying attention or known him for as long as he has then he wouldn’t see it.

His expression looked neutral, one he imagined that he worked on for years, but his eyes gave it away. Sherlock was a wreck. “Sherlock…” “Show me.” His voice was rougher than usual like he had been yelling..or crying. 

He almost attempted to ask him what was wrong, but he knew that he would never open up to Lestrade in front of all these people. And he had a feeling that he was in no mood to talk about his feelings.

He showed him to the scene and let him look around to make his deductions. It was a gruesome scene, the whole room was full of bodies. Each one was messier than the next, he was glad that he skipped lunch.

Anderson didn’t bother him like he usually did, he had been looking at this for a week and couldn’t find anything on who did it. After a little bit, he was just about to ask if he figured it out, but then his mobile started to go off.

He couldn’t describe the look on Sherlock’s face when he looked at the screen. He answered it. “What happened? You know something or you wouldn’t be calling me.” Whatever the person on the other side of that phone call said, it was bad.

He looked like he was about to have a breakdown. “When can…I’ll be right there.” He walked out of the house, providing no explanation for what just happened. "Sherlock, what-”

“Check out every shop that sells black gum roots in a twenty-mile radius. You’ll find your killers in one of them.” “Sherlock!” “I just told you-” “Forget the bloody case! What is going on with you, you better not give me some bullshit excuse either! I know something is wrong!”

He finally stopped walking. He could see him considering his options in his head. Lestrade personally thought he was actually going to tell him too if it hadn’t been for Donavan’s intrusion. “What was that about?”

As soon as she spoke, he knew he lost him. When he turned around to tell Donavan to go away, Sherlock jumped into a cab. Lestrade was pissed. He was so close, so close, and Donavan ruined it.

He knew that if he tried to contact him he wouldn’t get an answer, all he could do right now was follow the lead Sherlock gave them. And maybe silently plan Donavan’s murder while doing so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos if you like : )


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to the people who left comments. I love reading them. Hope you enjoy this.

Sherlock was gone, again. Two days after leaving him at that crime scene he got a text stating that he would not be taking cases until further notice and to not bother him. So Lestrade allowed him his space, even if he didn’t like it, all the possibilities of what was said on that phone call unsettled him.

From what he did hear, it was bad news. While Sherlock was away, he has been taking his frustrations out on Donavan. For the last month, he has been sending her around the city taking statements for every case he could find.

Maybe it was petty, but he couldn’t really feel bad for it. Every day it was getting more difficult to respect Sherlock’s wishes, cases were starting to pile up. He wondered how they made it so long without him and his brilliant deductions.

There was one way where he could find out what happened without disturbing Sherlock. Instead, he would be bothering the other Holmes. Mycroft had given him his number years ago when Sherlock had still been using.

He was reluctant to invade his privacy like this, but he just had to know. “Hello?” “This is Detective Inspector Lestrade, you gave me this number a few years back. I have a few questions regarding your brother.”

“You may ask your questions, Inspector.” Something has recently happened and it has prevented him from taking any new cases. I was wondering if you knew the cause. “I do.” “Care to explain it to me.”

“I’m afraid it isn’t my secret to share.” “Are you sure there isn’t anything that you can tell me, I just want to make sure he is okay?” “I assure you that my brother is fine, better than he has been for a while in fact.”

This was not going the way he hoped, now he had even more questions. “Sorry that I can’t be of much help. If that is all, I need to go to a meeting.” “Okay. Have a nice evening.” “You too.” He hung up. 

Lestrade tried to be okay with the little information he got, he really did, but he wasn’t. He knew that Ms.Hudson would never let him up willingly without Sherlock’s okay and he wasn’t going to get that.  _ Drugs bust it is. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this one is a bit short. I promise the next one will be a lot longer and will include John.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter! Hope you guys like it.

He brought the usual team for the drugs bust; Anderson, Donavan, and a couple of other officers who Sherlock pissed off regularly. As he expected, Ms.Hudson threw a fit when she saw them going up to his flat. 

“Why can’t you just leave them be!” If he had been paying any attention to her, maybe he would have noticed that she said “them” and not “him”, but he was too focused on getting an explanation out of Sherlock. 

Lestrade didn’t bother knocking, the chances of him letting him in willingly were very slim. He entered first while the others stood in the hallway, he would only bring them in if Sherlock refused to cooperate.

But the second he stepped in a gun was pressed against the side of his head.  _ Fuck. _ He could see the person holding the gun out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t turn his head, not wanting to risk getting shot. 

He was a little below average height, dirty blonde hair that was cut military style but had grown out a bit, and tan.“Who are you?” It was a man, he could tell that much from his voice. 

“I’m DI Lestrade,” he answered, obeying the universal rule of whoever had the gun got to ask the questions “Now how about you put the gun down.” “Not until you explain why you broke into my flat.”  _ His flat?  _

“John? Where did you go?” Sherlock came from the bedroom upstairs.  “Right here, sweetheart.”  _ Sweetheart?!  _ He looked down at them and his eyes widened “Lestrade, what the hell are you doing here? I told you no more cases until I said so.”

Then he looked back at John “For god's sake, put your gun down. He’s a friend.” Lestrade was relieved that John listened to him, but also happy that Sherlock just called him a friend. 

“Then why is he breaking into our flat?” “Good question.” “Drugs bust.” Sherlock looked at John, his expression panicked. “John, I swear I-” “I know, I know you haven’t.” He said, trying to soothe the detective.

“It was just an excuse to get in,” Lestrade assured. Before anything else was said, they noticed there was a red spot forming on his shoulder. That was when he noticed there was a white bandage peeking out from his shirt.

“You pulled your stitches again, didn’t you?” He lifted the shirt and pulled the bandage away from the wound, exposing the other scars that littered across his stomach and back.

The displeased look on his face confirmed that he did in fact pull his stitches. He led him to the couch and left the room, probably going to find a new bandage and something to fix the stitches.

“I’m guessing that Sherlock has yet to mention me.” “Yeah.” It was all he could get out, still processing what was happening in front of him. “I’m John Watson, Sherlock’s husband.” _Husband?!_ “What?!” 

Sherlock returned with the supplies for John. “What did I miss?” “You didn’t tell him about me.” “It’s not his business. Besides, he never asked.” He said in his defense. “You’re married?”

“We’ve already been through that.” “But your name…” “We didn’t change our names, mostly because of our careers, it’s too much trouble.” “You don’t wear a ring.”  He pulled a chain out from under his shirt, there was a golden ring hanging from it.

“Never want to lose it while working on a case and helps me avoid questions.”  _ Fair enough.  _ “How lo-” “The freak is married?!” Donavan called out, the door was wide open. He had forgotten that they were there, it was a wonder that they had been quiet for this long. 

Lestrade was about to tell her to get out, this was not the time for her to bully Sherlock, but John had other plans. His expression darkened when the word “freak” came out of her mouth. “What did you just call him?”

Even Donavan realized that she fucked up, he looked like he was ready to pick up his gun and shoot her. “F-Freak.” He was tempted to facepalm, he regretted letting her come along now.

“Give me your name and rank.” “John, it’s fine.” “It is not fine! You have been working with them for years, they do not get to treat you like this. I won’t stand for it!” He turned back to face Donavan “Name and rank, now.”

“You can’t ju-” “Yes, I can. You have harassed my husband for what I can tell a while now and you seem to have not faced the proper consequences. I have every right to report you for that.”

Lestrade knew that this would happen eventually, she finally messed with Sherlock in front of the wrong person. She was too shocked to say anything in her defense, not that she had one, to begin with.

“Okay, everyone get out! Out! Out!” He shooed everyone away, it didn’t feel right for all of them just standing there and watching. They listened to him, but he could hear them whispering about what they witnessed.

He hoped that Sherlock was okay with people knowing that he was married because it was no longer a choice anymore. John did not look happy that Donavan had made a break for it, but he had a plan.

He was right, she had gone too far too many times. He wasn’t going to save her from this. “I’ll give you her information so you can report you. I give you my word that she will face consequences for her behavior, she should have a long time ago.”

He nodded, satisfied with his response. “But now that they are gone, I want to hear everything. No skipping on the details either.” Sherlock rolled his eyes, but then started to tell him what he wanted to know.

“I met John while he was still in school to become a doctor, I was doing research there at the time. We got married a couple of months before he was shipped off to Afghanistan, that was 4 years ago.” 

John cut in. “Mycroft pulled some strings and got me a phone. It’s only 2 hours once a week, but it’s enough that Sherlock doesn’t kidnap me and take me home again.” “I did that one time.” 

“Still got me in a lot of trouble though. Do you know how hard it was to explain that without getting you arrested?” “ _ Anyhow _ , as you can see he was recently injured and sent home. So I have been taking care of him.”

That explained everything; the odd behavior because of the mysterious visit from his “friend”, why he was unavailable one day a week, and why he has been gone recently. “If that is all, I would like to take care of my injured husband in private,” he said bluntly.

“I guess that I will be going then. I’ll text you later with the information. When you are up to take cases again, tell me.” “It was nice meeting you, Lestrade. Hopefully next time it will be under better circumstances.”

He nodded in agreement and left the flat. When Sherlock finally did return, John was always with him. No one dared to call him names anymore, especially when Donavan was put on desk duty permanently after the report went through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys want me to write another Secret!Johnlock fic, tell me. Or if you any other suggestions.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked this, please leave kudos : )


End file.
